Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-03-11

such q fuss, and deny her q pleasant &C.
quaintance, just out of jealousy. 1t made
her look as though she couldn't be trusted
to speak to a young man., she said. And
then she would burst into tears. and Gabe
would only coax and soothe her, and let
her have her way.
Things went On so for a few months. and
then, after being as happy as a bird, and,
as everybody thought, engaged to Kent,
Gabrielle began to droop. Kent was a
little less attentive to her, and while pre-
tending the same friendship, began to pay
attention to another girl. You should
have seen Gabe. BY heaven! he couldn't
say a word; he looked like a tigress robbed
of her young ones. Gabrielle pretended
that there was nothing the matter with her,
and that they We're the same friends as ever.
What could Gabe say to that, even if he
didn't believe it? And he didn't believe it,
nor did anybody else. Everybody knew
that the faithless fellow had made love to
her, and that she was breaking her heart
for him, but would rather die Than betray
him. 1t was found out afterward that they
had exchanged pictures and locks of hair,
and she had two or three sweet notes from
him.
II never saw anything SO pitiful as that
girl trying to appear as if nothing was the
matter, unless it was Gabe doing the same
thing. She grew pale and thin, and her
dimples disappeared, but she would try to
laugh and be gay, though the tears would
start in her eyes. And Gabe would try to
make believe he saw nothing unusual; but
if ever there was misery in q mans face, it
was in his. He couldn't stay away from
Gabrielle an hour. and if you spoke to him,
half the time he didn't know what you
said.
"By and by Gabrielle was down sick;
but long before that Kent had quit boarding
with them, and 10Y he never came there
at all. Gabe was angry, he was terrible.
He got doctors far and near; he bought
everything he could think of to please her,
and at last he went to Kent, and BUNDLED
himself to the fellow. begging him to go
see Gabrielle and marry her. He said he
would give them three quarters of every
thing he earned. Kent said he was willing
to go and SET Gabrielle, if it would do any
good, but that he was engaged TO marry
another girl. Gabe took him by the throat,
at that and nearly strangled him, when
some one parted them. Then Gabe went
home to his little girl, and sat down by her,
and he never left her again till she died.
For she did die. People say that no one
ever dies of h~eart-break; but 1 know
better. Gabrielle Dessau did, if ever
no one else did. All the doctors said that
that was what was the matter with her, and
that they could do nothing for her.
"There was something of a stir when she
died. Nobody would speak to Kent, and
all the rich people in town came to see
Gabe, and 10 comfort him; and when
Gabrielle was buried there were bushels of
flowers from all the greenhouses sent to
lay around her. You could not see the
coffin for flowers.
"From that time Gabe changed. No.
body has heard a laugh from him for two
years now, and he seldom speaks, unless
he is spoken to. He never mentions
Gabrielle, and nobody likes to mention her
1 " AL ~ NAlCG u Duo JUN lucIC 6llOhs
ing, with his eyes Shut, somehow I feel Us
though he is thinking of her all the time"
"Hush!!" said Jack Smith.
There was a crunch on the snow outside,
and in came Gabe, with his everlasting
pipe in his mouth, and bis head hanging
in the way it always did. He didn't speak,
or seem to mind us, but pulled of: his
boots. shook the fire out of mis- pipe, and
threw himself down on his bunk.
Generally he was as still ut night as by
day; but that night he was restless. While
the others were snoring around he lay
breathing in q way that was almost groan-
ing, and moved restlessly. Once in a while
he would mutter to himself, and once 1
heard hins say:
"Ho deaire! no deaire, mai haart!"
kept quiet, for 1 knew he thought We
were all asleep; but I couldhave cried with
q good will for the poor, desolate man, who
had nobody to comfort him. And MS pitied
him, hated the worthless puppy who had
made a wreck of his happiness. All night
long he tossed and sighed there, and the
next morning he looked like a ghost.
We found out the meaning of it after.
wards. That was poor Gabrielle's BIRTH
day. and instead of being in one of the
other camps, as We thought, Gabe had
been wandering about the woods, knee
deep in the snow, trying to walk away his
sorrow.
I kept my eye on Kent Williams after
that, and l made up my mind about him.
He wasn't a fellow of any great force, and
had no more principle Than a dog. 1 don't
believe he could murder q man if he tried,
but he could do things that would be the
indirect cause of a PERSONS death. He
was a selfish man, mean and vainer than
any fellow I ever saw; and he
thought that all the girls were in
love with him. He seemed to think
them fair game, md that if he could
captivate a girl he had the right to do it.
AT the same time l must say that ] never
saw a handsomer fellow. He was tall and
straight. and timber as q savage, and as
graceful in his movements as a tiger. His
complexion was dark, q sort of olive skin,
with bright color in the lips and cheeks,
curly dark hair, o short curling mustache,